Team Separation Operation

In the early morning, as the sun cast its first rays and birds sang their first songs, Ling Tian slowly woke from his dream. He moved slightly and immediately felt half his body going numb and unbearably uncomfortable. Looking closely, he saw that Hua Min'er was leaning against him with her whole upper body. Due to prolonged immobility and pressure, his blood circulation was poor, causing the numbness. However, he dared not move a muscle, afraid of waking the darling in his arms.

For a moment, Ling Tian gazed at the beauty in his embrace, feeling both pain and pleasure.

Hua Min'er lay peacefully in his arms, looking exceptionally serene. Her eyelashes would occasionally flutter, and a faint smile played on her lips, as if she were having a sweet dream.

Suddenly, a sound of splashing and laughter drifted over. It turned out Yun Ying and the others had woken up and were washing up by the nearby stream. A group of girls together, playing and laughing, full of youthful vitality.

"Mmmph." Hua Min'er let out a soft moan and was woken by the commotion.

Ling Tian Gege, I slept in your arms all night. Hua Min'er's heart was filled with sweetness. Though she couldn't help but feel shy, she didn't want to move.

"Mhm, Min'er, you slept so late yesterday, you must be exhausted. Why don't you sleep a little longer?" Ling Tian smiled faintly, looking at Hua Min'er with great affection.

Yesterday she had been dancing, then dragged by some senior sisters to sing, and even had a little to drink later. Even after sleeping for so long, traces of fatigue still lingered on her face.

"Mhm, then I'll sleep a bit more." As she spoke, Hua Min'er snuggled closer to Ling Tian, a faint smile appearing on her lips, and then she closed her eyes, intending to continue sleeping.

Ling Tian smiled slightly and held Hua Min'er even tighter. He took a deep breath, and a faint, delicate fragrance wafted into his nostrils, refreshing his mind and spirit.

Ling Tian Gege's embrace is so warm, so comforting. To be able to sleep listening to his heartbeat, I wish I could lie in his arms forever like this. Hua Min'er thought to herself, and as she thought, a blush rose to her cheeks.

I wish I could just hold Min'er like this, and not think of anything else. Ling Tian thought to himself, their hearts connected as if by telepathy.

For a time, their thoughts drifted.

However, their reverie was soon interrupted.

"Ling Tian kid, Junior Sister Min'er, it's time to wake up. We still have a mission next." A clear and pleasant voice rang out. Who else could it be but Yao Yu?

"Mhm, got it, Senior Sister." Hua Min'er secretly chided Yao Yu for interrupting their intimacy, but she could only open her eyes and stand up from Ling Tian's embrace, revealing a shy smile.

Ling Tian also felt a flush of embarrassment, but he was helpless. He could only reluctantly watch Hua Min'er leave his embrace before gracefully descending from the tree.

"Ling Tian Gege, I'm going to wash up first. Hurry and come, hee hee." Hua Min'er put away Ling Tian's cloak and turned back, her smile as bright as a butterfly.

"Mhm, got it, ah..." Ling Tian responded dazedly. Just as he was about to stand up, his leg went numb, and he promptly fell from the tree.

THUMP!

A heavy thud, crushing countless blades of lush green grass.

"Ah, Ling Tian Gege, what's wrong?" Hua Min'er suddenly looked back, exclaimed, and then rushed back, hurriedly helping Ling Tian up and asking with concern.

"Uh, don't move, Min'er, I'm fine. It's just that my body is numb and I can't move for a moment." Ling Tian was covered in grass clippings, looking quite embarrassed.

"Hee hee, I thought something had happened to you. So that's what it is." Hearing Ling Tian say he was fine, Hua Min'er, being intelligent and perceptive, knew why he was like this. Thinking of this, Hua Min'er smiled even more sweetly.

"Um, Min'er, you go ahead first. I'll just stretch my body, hehe." Ling Tian chuckled sheepishly.

"No, I'll help you over." Hua Min'er insisted stubbornly.

"Oh, alright, but slowly. It feels so tingly." Seeing Hua Min'er's persistence, Ling Tian couldn't refuse her kindness and let her help him walk towards the stream.

Soon, they arrived at the stream. The other girls saw them and immediately asked what had happened. Ling Tian helplessly explained the situation, and the girls teased them endlessly, making both Ling Tian and Hua Min'er blush crimson.

Thus, the two finished their washing in the midst of everyone's teasing. However, they noticed the lingering smiles in everyone's eyes, showing no intention of letting them off the hook.

"Uh, Senior Sister Yao Yu, you mentioned a mission earlier. What mission is it?" Ling Tian changed the subject, trying to divert everyone's attention.

"We need to split into teams to clear this area and deal with any corpses that haven't undergone Corpse Transformation yet, to prevent them from becoming Zombies," Yao Yu stopped her teasing, her expression becoming somewhat serious.

"Then how should we divide into teams?" Ling Tian asked again.

"Let's divide into five teams. Each team needs at least one person at the Qi Solidification Stage. Members can form teams freely. One team will stay behind, and the other four teams will search in four directions. Just deal with any corpses you see directly." Yun Ying had also finished washing up and made the arrangements.

"Mhm, that's good. I suppose Zombies won't appear during the day, so we won't be in any danger," Ling Tian nodded. Yun Ying's arrangement was quite reasonable.

"Then, Ling Tian, Min'er, let's be in a team together, along with Junior Sister Fang Qin. We'll search the south." Yao Yu said. Besides Yun Ying, she was the highest-cultivated person here. As for Fang Qin, Ling Tian knew she was also at the Qi Solidification Stage. It was clearly Yun Ying's intention to arrange for them to look after Ling Tian and Hua Min'er.

"Mhm, okay, let's go." Ling Tian and Hua Min'er said in unison.

Seeing that no one objected, Yao Yu led them towards the south, while the others also formed their teams and went to search in their respective directions as planned.

Along the way, there were no significant dangers. Everyone extended their Spiritual Sense, and they acted together upon detecting any abnormalities. They did discover a few corpses that had not yet undergone Corpse Transformation. These corpses were all burned and properly disposed of, sending thick black smoke into the air. Looking at the other directions, black smoke occasionally rose from them as well, presumably from team members in other areas who had also made discoveries.

Thus, they traveled south. As they went, the group gradually became less tense than at the beginning, chatting and laughing. They walked tens of miles south, having dealt with dozens of corpses.

"Huh, Senior Sister Yao Yu, why can't my Spiritual Sense detect any Zombies? There were so many yesterday, but now I can't find a single one," Ling Tian asked in surprise.

Yao Yu also noticed the anomaly and frowned. "There are two main possibilities: one is that they are still far away and we haven't reached them yet. Two is that they are hiding very deeply, and our Spiritual Sense can't detect them."

"Further south is the desert. The desert is dry and not suitable for Zombies to survive. I'm afraid it's only the second possibility," Fang Qin analyzed at this point.

"Mhm, only this possibility remains. They are hiding very deeply. Our Spiritual Sense only extends a few hundred meters, so we probably can't detect them," Yao Yu said.

"Oh, I see." Actually, among these people, Ling Tian's Mental Cultivation was the highest. He was just one step away from the Golden Core Realm. His Spiritual Sense could already extend nearly a thousand meters. Perhaps it would break through a thousand meters once he reached the Golden Core Realm.

"There's actually another situation, which is that the Zombie's cultivation is higher than ours. Even if they were standing right in front of us, our Spiritual Sense wouldn't detect them," Yao Yu mused for a moment before adding, "However, this possibility is unlikely. Yesterday, there were so many low-level Zombies, and our cultivation levels were all higher than theirs, so this possibility is ruled out."

Upon hearing this, Ling Tian suddenly thought of another possibility: that the Zombie controlling the others was using its own cultivation to shield the low-level Zombies, making them undetectable. However, he didn't voice this idea, because even if he did, the others wouldn't be able to solve it and would only become more anxious.

"Senior Sister Yao Yu, shouldn't we head back? There won't be any more Zombies further south," Hua Min'er had initially thought this outing would be fun, but it turned out to be just burning corpses. She was already tired of it.

"Mhm, it's already noon. We should head back. Anyway, Zombies will automatically seek out living things at night, so it's not too late to kill them then." Yao Yu was also a bit tired, so when Hua Min'er suggested it, she readily agreed.

"Hee hee, let's fly back! I haven't had a proper flight yet!" Hua Min'er exclaimed joyfully.

"Mhm, that's exactly what I was thinking. Ling Tian, you'll come with me. Min'er has just learned to fly, so she might not be able to carry you," Yao Yu naturally wouldn't object and said to Ling Tian.

"Mm, alright, Senior Sister Yao Yu. But Min'er, you need to be careful, don't fall again." The first half was spoken to Yao Yu, the latter half was a reminder for Hua Min'er.

"Hmph, silly brother." Hua Min'er said, slightly annoyed, then stopped talking. She summoned her Flying Sword, Lian Ying, leaped up, and rode it into the sky. She moved like lightning, showing no sign of unfamiliarity at all.

"Junior Sister Min'er is truly a genius. She's already so good at flying on her sword in just a day," Fang Qin couldn't help but exclaim. As she spoke, she also summoned her own Flying Sword and gave chase.

"Ling Tian, let's go." Yao Yu said, summoning her Flying Sword. The two of them sped off.

On the Flying Sword, Ling Tian closed his eyes and concentrated, extending his Spiritual Sense. He quickly detected a place shrouded in black mist. It was the stream where he and Hua Min'er had played yesterday. He frowned. When he probed further, he couldn't find anything. He had no choice but to give up, though he had formed his own judgment.

"Perhaps a Zombie is there, probably the most difficult one. Should I tell the senior sisters?" Ling Tian hesitated.

"Better not. It's very deep there. If I tell the senior sisters, I'm afraid they'll rush in recklessly. On the Zombie's territory, I doubt we'd gain any advantage." Ling Tian quickly dismissed the idea of telling everyone.

"Let's see how things go, take it as it comes. Let's deal with some low-level Zombies first," Ling Tian thought to himself.

The group flew quickly and returned to the campsite in a moment. By then, the disciples from the other routes had also returned one after another, presumably having finished dealing with the corpses.

"Junior Sister Min'er, you're back. How was it? Did you discover anything?" Yun Ying, who had stayed at the campsite, smiled slightly upon seeing Ling Tian and the others return and asked.

"Senior Sister Yun Ying, apart from dealing with some corpses, we didn't discover anything. It was extremely boring, I'm so sleepy." Hua Min'er pouted slightly, yawning, her eyes filled with fatigue.

"Heh heh, who told you to sleep so late yesterday? Alright, hurry back and get some rest." Yun Ying affectionately patted Hua Min'er's head and instructed her.

"Mm, I know. Brother Ling Tian, you should also get some good rest, okay?" Hua Min'er turned and gazed at Ling Tian, her eyes full of affection.

"Mm, I know. Min'er, hurry back and rest." Ling Tian smiled slightly, looking at Hua Min'er with fondness.

"Mm." Hua Min'er replied, then lightly moved her steps and went back to rest.

The others also felt somewhat tired and went back to rest one after another. In broad daylight, they weren't afraid of a Zombie attack, especially with Ling Tian's Formation.

A moment later, only Ling Tian was left in the open space. The sun blazed outside, making it unbearably hot. Ling Tian wiped the sweat from his forehead, then climbed back onto the ancient tree. The ancient tree was lush and leafy, offering much cooler shade.

"Mm, I am indeed a bit sleepy. I should get some good rest. There might be another fierce battle tonight," Ling Tian thought, then closed his eyes to rest. A moment later, a faint snoring sound could be heard.